`One of the few genuinely radical leaders of the early Country Party`, the thin and lanky Stewart was an ascetic individualist who set great store by his principles. Convinced that the V.F.U. could best serve farmers by remaining independent from other parties, after 1918 he sat next to the Labor opposition and frequently voted with them.

Stewart`s intransigence, combined with his electoral popularity, created a problem for his own party which was then canvassing coalition with the Nationalists. In October 1919, however, he resigned and won the Federal seat of Wimmera which he was to hold until his death. One of five original members of the Federal parliamentary Country Party, Stewart was also one of the three managers appointed to look after its interests.